Product Review: Hyper-Edge Gem Faceting Laps

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PinkDiamond
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Product Review: Hyper-Edge Gem Faceting Laps

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I had no idea what this kind of lap was, or what it does. Does anyone here use one? It gives an interesting frosted effect. I'd love to see how any of y'all who have one of these laps use them, and whether you're as enamored with this lap as the author. ;)

Product Review: Hyper-Edge Gem Faceting Laps
by Mark Oros

Image
Citrine gemstone, crown view, faceted and matte/frosted finished with a Hyper-Edge 1,500 lap. © Hashnu Stones & Gems. Used with permission.

"When I was a beginner, I read a lot of books on faceting. (I still do). One of the things that stuck with me was Jeff Graham saying something about his favorite lap being a worn-out 1,200-grit lap. It wasn’t until I wore out my first 1,200 Crystalite solid steel-plated lap that I understood what Jeff meant. Here was a lap that could still cut but also gave me a flat, sharp, matte finish on a facet. Such a facet served as a great “stepping stone” to a pre-polish regardless of what gemstone I was cutting.

Most of the diamond-plated 3,000-grit laps I tried ended up gouging my stones. Something always seemed to pop up at the most inconvenient time, sending me back to recut the stone. Fortunately, the worn-out 1,200 lap allowed me to bypass the troublesome 3,000 and move on to one of the many pre-polish systems I had in my studio.

Please don’t take me for someone that skips laps. I’m a dedicated sequential lap faceter. If you triple step your grits (like going from a 260 to a 1,200 lap), you’ll pay for it one way or another. I’ve never understood the folks who say they can go from a rough grit to a polish. Maybe the stones they’re cutting are exceedingly small. I like to cut big sculptural stones, which take time and no lap skipping.

The worn-out 1,200 lap acted like a cross between the 1,200 and 3,000. Unfortunately, such a worn-out plated lap eventually becomes totally void of diamond grit. A sintered metal lap, on the other hand, never really wears out, because you pay three times the money for it not to wear out.

Recently, I saw an advertisement for Hyper-Edge gem faceting laps. These are proprietary composite laps. Being a lap collector of sorts, I buy every new lap I see and try it. After watching the informative video where the late, great Stephen Kotlowski explained in detail the use and care of the Hyper-Edge laps, I bought the full set and tried them. I’ve yet to be disappointed with any of the new laps.

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Gem cutter Michael Rizzo starts faceting on the Hyper-Edge 1,500 after using a 600-grit lap. © Hashnu Stones & Gems. Used with permission.

While I like all the laps in the set, the 1,500-grit lap gave me ... "

https://www.gemsociety.org/article/prod ... ting-laps/
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


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